Leaders Information
Dear Potential Leader,
Thank you very much for your interest in running a themed holiday at “La Maison Anglaise Garden Ecolodge”. If you haven’t already, read more about us on our Holidays With Heart page and our Ethics page. You can also find out much more information about our lovely staff, the activities we offer, the charitable work we do, the guest house and the good food we serve on our web site.
We have made some notes below to guide leaders of group holidays. We can, of course, discuss modifications – the programming and travel needs of bird watchers, for example, are quite different from those of yogis.
Our Agreement
Subject to recruiting a group which is economically viable to both you and us, you pay for your own flights (not often more than £150 return except if you don’t recruit promptly or have chosen a peak season date and can be as cheap as £70 return); the agreed group’s package is free of charge to you and may be available at a reduced fee to an assistant sharing a room with you (See more detail in point 4 below). We pay you an agreed fee (usually per client) – see ‘Your Fee’ below.
Table of Contents
Administration
We handle the bookings but will direct any queries about your specialism to you. We will advise on flights and clients will book their own flights – we can give support if necessary. Please direct all clients to us rather than answering queries yourself; there are 2 reasons for this:
1) to avoid conflicting information (we can always provide up to date information & have carefully written templates to avoid misunderstandings). It avoids embarrassment for us having to say you got it wrong (even if you have been before things often change!)
2) it is confusing for clients; it is best that they understand that the UK office & Moroccan office coordinate everything and that the tutor is only responsible for the special interest teaching programme.
Recruiting Please send any correspondence you wish to send to clients to us for approval before sending to ensure it is watertight eg it must contain the how to book link. Omitting this has led clients being disappointed, believing that they have booked via the leader who cannot always have up to date data on bookings.
Please Note – Package Holiday Regulations 2018 do not apply to our holidays for the reasons below;-
- Payments for activities are made in Morocco.
- They do not constitute a significant part of the overall holiday price.
Flights
Agadir airport is just 50 minutes’ drive, and we strongly recommend that groups fly to this airport. Flights to Marrakech are not generally advised – especially on arrival: it is a larger and less efficient airport; it is a difficult journey by public transport; if we pick you up, it is expensive and the transfer time is 3 hours 30 mins on the new motorway (ignore people who tell you it takes less). For certain itineraries, it can make sense to plan to depart from Marrakech with a trip from Taroudant over the famous Tiz n Test Pass with options to stop at several places, including the ancient Tinmal Mosque – one of only 2 mosques in Morocco that may be entered by non-Muslims – the day can be more like an excursion than a taxi transfer. Unless it is a late flight, you would normally spend a night in the High Atlas Mountains (or Marrakech) before flying home. We can advise on & create itineraries, as a result of Jane’s experience as a geography lecturer with a special interest in Morocco and then having run a responsible travel company specialising in Morocco for some years as well as experience since 1997 crafting holidays in Taroudant.
There are always flights from Gatwick and Manchester to Agadir but also London Stansted, London Luton, Edinburgh and Bristol (from 2025-2030 there will be extra flights in response to Morocco hosting the World Cup and general growth of tourism). Read more about flights here. It’s best to chat to us about the best current flight options to suit your group’s needs since we can often offer novel solutions to what flights will work best for you in terms of cost, timing, airports of departure and arrival, transfer times and the best schedule for arrival and departure dates. We suggest that you avoid trawling the internet for ideas, as it can be very misleading.
Tuition
Programme for your holiday at La Maison Anglaise Garden Ecolodge
Tutors often ask about the timing of their sessions. Here are some notes which we hope you’ll find useful.
If you prefer to leave decisions re the timing of your tutored sessions until you arrive that is absolutely fine, but we know some of you like to have a more detailed plan, which may need to be flexible to meet the group’s needs.
Below we have set out the general pattern of activities. Although this is not set in stone, it can be hard to change too much because we must consider our guests’ choices, the daily lives of our staff, hosts and partners, staff days off, flight changes and weather. The programme is fine tuned after the group’s arrival to take into account choices from the optional programme (which are impossible to know in advance), allowing our manager to create personalised programmes.
Suggestions for the schedule for your tutored activities
You will find that it’s best to remain flexible. Our staff always manage to create a programme that meets everyone’s needs for activities. The group’s requests are discussed at the introductory meeting with our manager who skillfully creates each person’s itinerary. Daily meetings confirm the next day’s arrangements which may vary with weather and guests’ choices.
Note: Our itinerary and timetable for your visit is linked to our respect for the daily routine of our staff and our Moroccan hosts, who have commitments such as feeding animals, prayer, preparing meals and children. The long lunch break (12 noon until 3.30 or 4 pm) is a traditional time for the family to get together and is the main meal of the day. Please do not alter the rest of the programme unless it’s been agreed with our staff.
Daily Schedule: this is flexible and might vary daily or according to weather, but experience has shown this works well. All activities are optional. Timing of suggested sessions with the tutor are underlined
Pre breakfast session with tutor before 8.30 am on some or all days
Breakfast: 8.30 am (later on first morning on request)
Lunch: 1 pm (or earlier if preferred). Picnic made from a buffet before you go out if on an outing.
Argan Oil Massage: usually afternoons after 3.30 pm
Middle of day session with tutor: any time between 9.30 am until 4 pm on days where there is no excursion or 12 noon until 3.30 – 4 pm on days with a half day activity (usually alternating days)
Supper : 6 pm or 6.30 pm
Session with tutor: after 7.30 pm
Note: Our itinerary and timetable for your visit is linked to our respect for the daily routine of our staff and our Moroccan hosts, who have commitments such as feeding animals, prayer, preparing meals and children. Our team’s long lunch break (12 noon until 3.30 or 4 pm) is a traditional time for the family to get together and is their main meal of the day.
Our prices for extras are fair and moderate. See our Price List .
Most holidays will start & end on Wednesdays because guests benefit from cheaper flights, airport hotels and public transport than weekends.
DAILY ACTIVITIES
Massages (30 or 60 minutes’ long) are organised to fit individual’s programmes. Usually from 3.30-5.30 pm daily, sometimes in the mornings. Various other cultural experiences shown on the sample programme below.
Sample Programme including optional activities.
The cost of all optional activities is shown on our Price List
Day 1: Wednesday: Drivers meet group at Agadir airport mid-morning (or sometimes later in the day). Arrive at the ecolodge for first meal, settle in and rest. Introduction and tour of site with ecolodge staff. Optional Activities available.
Day 2: Thursday: Optional excursion: for example walking at one of 2 oases and possibly in the Anti Atlas Mountains with Said.
Day 3: Friday: Optional cultural experience: cookery lesson; massages; experience our on-site solar powered hammam.
Day 4: Saturday: Optional excursion: for example High Atlas Berber Villages – an insight into daily lives of villagers in the mountains with Rachid.
Day 5: Sunday: Exploring Taroudant. Optional cultural experiences: shopping in the souk; massages; experience our on-site solar powered hammam.
Day 6: Monday: Optional excursion: for example walking and wildlife in the High Atlas Mountains with Said.
Day 7: Tuesday: Optional cultural experiences: henna tattoos. Finish shopping. Optional lunch out at a restaurant of your choice (at your expense).
Day 8: Wednesday: Farewell. Vacate rooms after breakfast. Transfer to Agadir 3 hours before flight departs.
Our Charges
WHAT IS INCLUDED Our charge per person for the “standard” week’s holiday at our ecolodge is about £750 – £800 (including a tutors fee, here assumed to be £125 per person) sharing a twin or double room, but the price varies with numbers. This price includes:
- Our administration: content creation, taking bookings, dealing with payments, sending out pre-visit information, alerting clients when to book flights and answering queries about Morocco and ecolodge. Use the password info to see our Leaders Guidelines page.
- 7 nights bed, breakfast and vegetarian or vegan evening meal and 6 lunches (option to have lunch out on the last day). Special diets catered for. Meat or fish evening meals available for a small supplement on a scale that reflects damage to the environment.
- airport transfers from and to Agadir (see * below)
The items above will be free of charge to the leader of the group, provided that the minimum agreed number of participants is recruited (usually 12 but can be less for activities such as photography where more personal tuition is required).
EXTRAS Tutors for any extras they choose – prices are shown here.
Airport Transfers
*Airport transfers to Taroudant from Agadir airport & return on the agreed flight. If anyone arrives by different means, we always like to pick them up with our own drivers to ensure their safety and comfort. This means that a fee will apply for use of extra vehicle(s) for the transfer(s) AND/OR for the longer transfer if from/to Marrakech.
Tutors & Your Fee
We offer one tutor the same package as the clients free of charge – this means you pay for your flight and any extras you choose as well as local taxes (currently about £3.20 per day). Assuming that you will tutor for a minimum of 20 hours in the week we usually pay tutors from £100 to £150 per guest (a group of twenty would therefore result in a £2000-£3000 income). If there are two tutors, one of you will be the designated tutor whom we communicate with and pay the fee to (we do not pay double fees, but it is up to you how to split it between you). We only accept 2 tutors for groups that aim to reach the full capacity of 22 and occupy the whole venue. Please note that we do not offer the package free of charge to a second tutor. If you (the tutors) are happy to share a room, we offer a £200 discount for the second Tutor.
Number of Participants
This will depend on the space required for your workshop as well as the number of bedrooms and their occupancy.
There are a variety of workshop spaces that can be used at the Ecolodge;-
- A purpose-built indoor space, the Activity Room, is 8m x 8m The floor is surfaced with a warm to the touch and warmly coloured orange/yellow/red marbled Marmoleum surface. Views into the gardens to north and south (adequate space for about 20 for dancing or 16 for yoga). There are 4 lightweight settees and 10 comfy chairs & 4 coffee tables that are usually kept in the corners of the rooms to allow plenty of space for dance or yoga. These can easily be moved into either the adjacent arcade or dining room out of the way or to allow extra workspace.
- A 14m x 8m (112 sq m) roof terrace above this room (with good views of the mountains and town walls). Used for sunset or sunrise yoga, dancing and singing. We keep this space largely unfurnished.
- A 74 square metre circular tiled area (9.7 metres diameter) set in a beautiful quiet part of the gardens with views over the town walls and pool.
- A tiled courtyard including a large rectangle 6m x 11m outside the dining/activity area near the fountain and Islamic scented gardens (herbs, roses etc).
- 2 x 22m x 3m wide terraces beside the pool
- A lovely oval shaded (with a canopy) seating area on the edge of the garden near the town walls with small tables. You may want to use this area for sitting, chatting, singing, lounging and more. This space should be large enough to accommodate the whole group sitting or less if lounging.
- An oblong shaded outdoor space in the gardens behind the pool. We have 9 extra folding wooden tables 1.8 m x 0.8 m which can be set up in this area which is ideal for craftwork.
- A outdoor space in the courtyard with several granite topped tables. One side tends to be shaded. This area is also used for outdoor dining.
- The dining room can be groups doing “clean” activities – there are 4 large rectangular tables.
- The library is a good space for a small group meeting – it has 2 x 2m long settees in an L shape. Extra lightweight settees or chairs can be brought from the activity room nearby
Bedrooms
Numbers that can be accommodated depend on how many people require single occupancy. All our 14 rooms can accommodate 2 people each, but many clients will want single occupancy & 3 bedrooms only have double beds so must be used for couples or single rooms. Most groups are about 16 but we can easily accommodate 22 guests (that would allow 6 single occupancy rooms and 8 twin/double rooms).
You might consider offering a limited number of places to partners or friends who don’t want to do your activities. This helps you recruit guests who would not travel alone, cannot afford the single supplement or would feel uncomfortable travelling without their companion
Facilities & Equipment
a) Sound Systems Please carry the appropriate leads for your device. Although we usually have leads they do disappear!
We have a sound system in the dining room. It is a SAMSUNG MM E330D
You may either play CDs or DVDs directly from the system, use our minijack to connect to your computer or connect to an ipod.
We also have a portable “Loud Bluetooth Speaker, LENRUE Outdoor Enhanced IPX7 Waterproof Portable Speakers with Rich Bass”, 14W HD Sound, 20-Hour Playtime. If you want really loud dance music it is not of adequate volume.
b) Yoga Mats
We have a small set of beautiful cork yoga mats for use in the activity room. Under the stairs to the roof terrace above the activity room we have “normal” ecologically sound coloured mats which you can use be used outside (and bring into the activity room when needed), yoga straps and yoga blocks. We have enough for a group of 16.
c) A large (TV) screen which can be used for videos & presentations using bluetooth.
d) Musical Instruments
We have an open-tuned guitar with case – it is stored in the office & should be returned there at the end of your stay please. Then we have a variety of small traditional pottery and different sizes of wooden framed (bendir) goatskin drums in the activity room.
Support
Pre-departure
Everyone will be supported by us and will be provided with substantial pre-visit information. NB Password souk is required to open it.
In Morocco
You’ll be looked after in Morocco by our 13 exceptional staff (a manageress, guides, drivers, cooks, a guardian, a masseuse, cleaners & a gardener). Latifa will take care of your programme – we normally discuss the group’s needs, menus and activities briefly after breakfast and in more detail at supper each evening. There is a substantial file of information provided in bedrooms too.
Community Projects
We support a variety of charitable projects. There will be opportunities to visit and support these projects. More information can be found on our Charitable Projects page.
Travellers Reviews
We have fabulous reviews for staff, activities, cleanliness and food. Read some reviews here
Available Dates
Please note that many group slots are booked up 2 or more years in advance but that with the capacity of the ecolodge we are able to run 2 groups parallel for some weeks. Please contact us to request a slot, giving a range of possible dates if you can. Our holidays are very popular, so it’s advisable for us to provisionally allocate some dates for you as soon as possible.
Tailored Add-ons
Some or all of your group might like to extend their holidays to visit “The Road Less Travelled” – other areas of the mountains, coast or desert with our delightful driver/guides escorting them. We strongly advise that guests add days AFTER the group holiday for several reasons. We can advise on & create itineraries; Jane founded and ran a responsible travel company specialising in Morocco from 1997.
Recruiting
Most of our leaders find it easy enough to recruit – but only if they have a reasonably sized client base, some of whom know people who’ve already visited us. It’s essential to begin to recruit well in advance (ideally a year ahead) because clients have less-full diaries and it means the flights can be booked most cheaply at the time they’re first published – usually by 9 months before departure. Also, you can guarantee getting seats on the chosen flight. Please recruit by email, web site, social media and, last but not least, verbally – your enthusiasm will encourage people to book!
Deposit
We will require a deposit of £300- £500 depending on group size once we have agreed a date for your course. We advise you to do a survey to find out how many on your mailing list are interested before proceeding unless you have a regular programme of foreign holidays. This helps us to pay for the substantial time involved in setting up the holiday and recruiting. Also, we must consider the effect on any clients who have signed up if we have to cancel (which thankfully is a rare occurrence). In the event of you not recruiting the minimum agreed number the deposit is non-returnable, but as a gesture of goodwill we are happy to offer a voucher to be used towards a stay with us (£250 for a £500 deposit; £50 for a £300 deposit). On the other hand, if you are successful in recruiting the deposit is refunded with your fees or transferred as a deposit for a future group holiday.
We look forward to speaking to you if you’d like to discuss a proposal. It’s best to email hello@holidays-with-heart.co.uk for an appointment, please.
Thank you for your interest and time!